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the smooth tale of an hour; and as if he was to look no more after the people, till the next sermon. Does not carnal prudence control our fervour, and make our discourses lifeless, on subjects the most piercing? How gently do we handle those sins, which will so cruelly handle our people's souls! In a word, our want of seriousness about the things of heaven, charms the souls of men into formality and superfluity of dress; and brings them to that customary careless hearing which undoes them; may the Lord pardon the great sinner in this thing!

Reader, look but to thyself, and answer the question. Ask thy conscience, and suffer it to tell thee truly hast thou set thy eternal rest before thine eyes, as the great business thou hast to do in this world? Hast thou watched and laboured with all thy might, that "no man take thy crown?" Hast thou made haste, lest thou shouldst come too late, and die before the work is done? Hast thou pressed on through crowds of opposition, "to the mark of the prize of thy high calling of God in Christ Jesus;" still reaching forth unto those "things which are before?" Can conscience witness thy se-cret cries, and groans, and tears? Can thy family witness that thou hast taught them the fear of the Lord, and warned them not to go to that "place of torment ?" Can thy ministers witness that they have heard thee cry out" what must I do to be saved ?" can they witness that thou hast followed them, with complaints of thy corruptions, and with ear

nest enquiries after the Lord? Can thy neighbours about thee witness that thou reprovest the ungodly, and takest pains to save the souls of thy brethren ? Let all these witnesses judge this day between God and thee, whether thou art in earnest about eternal rest!

You can tell by his work whether your servant has loitered, though you may not have seen him ; and so you may by looking at your own work. Are your love to Christ, your faith, your zeal, and your other graces, strong or weak? What are your joys, what is your assurance? Is all in order with you? Are you ready to die this day? Do the souls amongst whom you have conversed bless you? Judge by these, and it will quickly appear whether you have been labourers or loiterers.

O blessed rest! how unworthily art thou neglected! O glorious kingdom! how art thou undervalued! Little know the careless sons of men what a state they thus neglect: if they knew it, they would surely be of another mind. I hope thou, reader, art sensible what a desperate thing it is to trifle about eternal rest; and how deeply thou hast been guilty of this thyself: and I hope, also, that thou wilt not now suffer this conviction to die.

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Should the physician tell thee, If thou wilt observe but one thing, I doubt not to cure thy disease,' wouldst thou not observe it? So, I tell thee, if thou wilt observe but this one thing for thy soul, I make no doubt for thy strength. Be a Christian indeed: I

know not then what can hinder thy happiness. Far as thou art gone from God, yet seek him with all thy heart, and no doubt thou wilt find him: unkind as thou hast been to Jesus Christ, yet seek him heartily, obey him unreservedly, and thy salvation is as sure as if thou hadst it already.

Now, reader, having brought thee to eternal rest, I must shew thee the grave, and the glorious resurrection. Thou canst not partake of this rest without going down to the grave thou canst not partake of it without the glorious resurrection. After death, thy vile body will be consigned to the grave, to moulder away into dust. Thy soul will be conducted by an angel of light to take its flight into the world of spirits, where it will remain at rest until the glorious morning of the resurrection, when a temple will be prepared. See 1 Cor. xv. 38, 39. "But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh of man, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." The resurrection does not relate to the soul, which ceases not to exist, and therefore need not be restored, but to the flesh, or the body. It is that alone which is consigned to the grave, and returns to the dust from whence it was taken; and it is that alone which will be raised up, and will be a revival of the same body which the immortal spirit dwelt in and actuated upon earth. "Behold, I shew you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we

shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." "But of that day, and that hour, knoweth no man, no not even the angels which are in heaven:" for there shall be great tribulations in those days, "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light; the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man, coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect, from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other." St. John the divine saith," and I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it; from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened; and another book was opened which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to his works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second

death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire."

No sooner are the reprobates gone to their place, but the saints ascend. Now Christ arises from his judyment seat, and with all the glorious company of heaven, marches toward the heaven of heavens. Oh, what a comely march is this! What songs of triumph are sung! Christ leads the Christ leads the way. The cherubim attend the seraphim wait: angels, archangels, principalities, powers, patriarchs, prophets, priests, evangelists, martyrs, and confessors of God's law and gospel following, attend the Judge and King of glory, singing with such melody, as never ear hath heard, shining with majesty, as never eye hath seen, rejoicing without measure as never heart conceived. O goodly troop of captains! Each one doth bear a palm of victory in his hand: each doth wear a crown of glory on his head! The church militant is now triumphant. With a final overthrow have they conquered Devils, Death, and Hell; and now must they enjoy God, life, and heaven. No sooner Christ and his company are in heaven, than this whole world is set on fire. "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up."

Christians, what is the matter, that we are so busy about this world? Look about you. Not one of those visible objects shall that day remain to have a being that glorious heaven, which rolls over our

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